Owings impressing on basepaths

By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- D-backs shortstop Chris Owings saw Padres right fielder Chris Denorfia approaching his single in right cautiously due to the sun on Saturday, and turned what should have been a single into a hustle double.

It was just the latest example of Owings' impressive work on the bases.

"That's the kind of baserunning I like," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "He has the tools to do it."

There are two ingredients that help Owings take an extra base in those situations. He has good speed, but also good technique -- from the way he hustles out of the box, to the route he takes to first, to the way he rounds the base.

Owings spends time during batting practice each day sharpening his skills on the bases, which helps him get a feel for balls he can run on.

"I run the bases during batting practice every day and I try to get the reads out there," he said. "I take it pretty serious. I feel like I've been an aggressive baserunner my whole career. Just playing the game hard is what it really boils down to. Just take the extra base when it's there."

Gibson still hoping to talk to Braun

SAN DIEGO -- Last August, D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said he hoped to one day get a chance to talk with Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, and added he was hoping that reporters would get a full explanation from him.

"I said this a long time ago, I think people should have an opportunity to ask him some questions and have him answer it unrehearsed," Gibson said then.

The D-backs head to Milwaukee on Monday to open a three-game series against the Brewers, and Gibson was asked Sunday if he still hoped to speak with Braun, who is on the 15-day disabled list.

"I'm probably not high on his list," Gibson said.

Braun was suspended for 65 games last year by Major League Baseball for violation of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He had previously tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs following Game 1 of the 2011 National League Division Series against the D-backs. That suspension was overturned the following spring by an arbitrator after Braun appealed, questioning the chain of custody of the positive sample when it wasn't immediately sent in via FedEx, as required by the testing policy.

Gibson was asked if he was satisfied with the statement that Braun released last year when he accepted the suspension. In subsequent media sessions, Braun has declined to get into any further details.

"Does it matter?" Gibson said. "I think I've been pretty clear about Ryan Braun. I just hope someday I get the opportunity to talk to him and we'll just keep the rest of it private. I think that's the smartest way to do it. Publicly I don't think there's much more to say than that. I'm not going to elaborate anymore."

Worth noting

• Outfielder A.J. Pollock was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game on Sunday.

Pollock has been battling a groin injury for the better part of a week, and the club is hopeful he can avoid having to put him on the disabled list. Pollock is not 100 percent, but he's getting closer. So much so that Gibson toyed with the idea of using him in left field as a defensive replacement in Saturday night's game.

• Catcher Miguel Montero got a day off Sunday after starting 10 games in a row.

• Right-hander Brandon McCarthy is 2-for-61 in his career at the plate, with one of those hits coming on Saturday night. Due to his inexperience, running the bases takes a lot out of him.

"I'm scared to death out there, so my heart beats like crazy," he said. "So by the time I come back in. I feel like I've already pitched an extra inning and a half."

• D-backs pitchers had their scoreless-innings streak snapped at 24 Saturday night. It is the second-longest streak in franchise history, behind the 31 the 2002 team recorded. That team included Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.